Automatic expansion valve for refrigerating apparatus



F. J. HEIDEMAN AND J. N. HADJISKY. AUTOMATIC EXPANSION VALVE FOR REFRIGERATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.3. 1918.

4 Patented Dec. 12,1922;

Paton 12,1922.

FRED J. HEIDEMALI AND JOSEPH N. HAD-TISKY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNORS I TO KELVINATOR CORPORATION, OF WILMINGTOIll,''DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

AUTOMATIC EXPANSION VALVE FOR BEFRIGEBATIN G APPARATUS.

Application filed April 3,1918. 'Serial' no. 226,555. 7.

- To all whom it may aoqwern:

Be it known that FRED J. HEIDEMAN and JOSEPH N. HADJISKY, citizenso the United States, residing at Detroit, in t e county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Automatic Expansion Valves for Refrig crating A paratus, of which the following is a full,"c ear, and exact description, referenoe being had to the accompanying draw- Fhi's invention relates to a pressure regulating valve and articularly to an automatic expansion va ve for use in connection with refrigerating apparatus, which offers the unique requirements of operation at less than atmospheric pressure and below the freezing point of water. The objects of the invention are the provision of a valve of.- 2 great slmplicity, compactness. and economy of construction, which shall be certain and uniform in operation, and which is almost completely unmfluenced by conditions 'on the pressure side; the provision of a valve wherein grinding and adjustment are peculiarly facilitated without causing any dan- I ger of leakage while in use; the provision of a valve adapted to withstand and operate under either positive or negative pressures; the provision of a refri crating expansion valve which shall be pecu 'arly immune from freezing-u or becoming clogged; while further ob ects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds. y

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this application we have illustrated one operative embodiment of our-invention, although it will be understood that these drawings are illustrative only and that 0 we do not intend to limit ourselves to the particular constructions or arrangements therein shown. In these drawings Fig. 1 illustrates diagrammatically a refrigerating s stem having our improved valve therein; ig. 2 is a sectional view of our improved valve; and Fig. 3 is a right hand face view of the valve shown in Fig. 2, portions being broken away to disclose the interior construction.

Describing by reference characters the structure shown in these drawings, the body of the valve 15 made in two parto, one of "able radiator 27 and liquid condult 28 with which preferably comprises a cup-shapedv casing having a cylindrical wall 1, and a flat bottom 2, the former rovided with a poripheral lip" 3, and the atter with a contral outwardly extending boss 4, and a central inwardly extending boss 5. The end of the latter boss is formed with an inturned flange 6, defining an aperture 7 and valve seat.8, while the interior of the boss 4 isflthreaded to receive the connecting nipple 9. The wall of the chamber is also formed witha suitable connection 10 for the attachment-of the low pressure main. I

The other art is shown as comprising a flat circular p ate 12, preferably of the same size as the lip 3 and connected to that lip by means of an expansible section 13, whose extremities are here shown as spun over the edges of the plate and lip 14-14 and further reinforced bysoldering. This expansible section is preferably made of sheet metal with eircumferentially corrugated cylindrical walls in such wise as to'be expansible lqpgitudinally while highly resistant radia y. c

This late 12 is formed with a central boss in whic is rotatably mounted the headed sleeve 17 formed with an axial bore .34 for the reception of the threaded stem 19 The valve. and .stem are preferably made in one piece and formed at opposite ends with slots 2020 for the reception of a screw driver for purposes of grindin and adjustlng. Leakage past the sleeve 1% is prevented by sweating solder into the joints between said sleeve and the respective members with which it engages. The casing is also .preferably provided with a plurality of; fixed 90 stops 21,21, adapted to engage the plate 12 when the valve has been sufficiently opened, thus preventing crushing of the member 13 by excessive vacuum.

In use the valve is attached in a position as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1 wherein 25 represents acompressor driven bfy an electric motor 26, the ressure side 0 the compressor being attac ed through a suitthe inlet nipple 9 of the valve, and the suction side of the com r'essor being connected by a-conduit 29 wit an expansion coil 30 to which is attached the outlet connection 10 of the valve. The valve is preferably lo- 10a cated in close proximity to the expansion coil and inside the confines 31 of the refri erating chamber.

11 order to grind the valve, the nipple 9 1S removed and a suitable grinding tool, such as a screw driver is inserted in the end slot 20, the solder at the opposite end being meanwhile softened by means of a blow torch to permit the rotation of the member necessary to grinding. Adjustment of the valve 1s efiected from the opposite end by rotating the stem 18 relatively to the sleeve 17, the

solder being meanwhile likewise softened by means of a blow torch. The large size of the chamber compared with that of the valve seat produces a valve whose operation is almost completely independent of pressure in the conduit 28, while the, employment of the yielding wall 12 as one of the walls of the main chamber, rather than as a wall of an auxiliary chamber, avoids any possibility of a failure to operate caused by a stoppage of the auxiliary chamber. Also the location of the valve seat inside the body of the chamber produces a valve which is less liable to have its operation obstructed by freezing-up or clogging, owing to changes of temperature, or to the congelation of oil or water mingled with the refrigerant.

The approach of the chamber-parts being limited by the stops 21, 21, and their separation being limited by the stem 18, it will be v seen that the device is safe from injury under either pressure or vacuum; especially in new of the well-known radial resistance of the bellows-metal part 13 whether to inward or outward pressure. This is peculiarly important in a refrigerating system wherein an extremly high vacuum is always produced just before charging, and wherein a very high pressure is frequently produced as by a temporary stoppage during hot weather.

It will of course be understood that the valve may be carried by either part so long as the valve seat is carried by the other part; also that the outlet connection 10 or flange 1 can be carried by. either part. It will also be understood that the flexible section13 possesses a certain amount of resiliency and so acts as aspring, which action can, if desired be intensified by the addition or further spring means, such, for example as that shown in dottel lines at 30 in Fig. 2. And in general it will be understood that many changes can be made in construction and arrangement without departure from our invention which is limited only by the prior art and by the terms and equivalents of the following claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is 1. A pressure regulating valve 'for refrigerating apparatus comprising a part having therein a passageway formed between the ends wlth a valve seat, a circular flange carried by said part and having a oylindrioal side wall surroundingsaid seat, a second part having a circular edge opposed to said wall and of substantially the same diameter, an extensible cylindrical wall of circumferentially corrugated sheet metal connecting said parts and cooperating therewith to define a'closed chamber to which said passageway forms an inlet, one of "said parts having an outlet connection communicating with said chamber, and a valve located in said passagewayand having its stem connected to said second part.

2. A pressure regulating valve for refrig-' crating apparatus comprising a part having therein a passageway formed between its ends with a restricted valve seat, said part also having a circular flange concentric with said seat, a valve member in said passageway and having its stem projecting throughsaid seat, a second part to which said stem is connected and having a circular edge opposed to said flange and of equal diameter thereto, an extensible wall of circumferen tially corrugated sheet metal connecting said edge and flange, said parts beingspaced from each other to define a chamber to which said passageway forms an inlet and an outlet connection carried by one of said parts and communicating with the interior of said chamber.

3. A pressure regulating valve comprising a part having therein a passageway formed between its ends with a restricted valve seat, said part also having a circular flange concentric with said seat, a valve member in said passageway and having its stem projecting through said seat, a second part to which said stem is connected and having a circular edge opposed to said flange, an extensible wall of circumferentially corrugated sheet metal connecting said edge and flange, said parts being spaced fromeach other to define a chamber whose width is mmited'by the engagement of said valve member 1 with its seat, means other than the valve stem carried by one of said parts and adapted to engage the other part for limiting the approach of said parts together, and an outlet connection carried by one of-said parts.

4. In a device of the character described, in combination a part having a valve seat therein, a valve member cooperating with said seat and having 'a threaded stem, a second part having a circular aperture sur- 124D rounding said stem, a sleeve seated in said aperture and surrounding said stem, said 'sleeve being threaded to one of the parts WhlCh 1t en agesya cylindrical wall of cir- I 5. In an expansion valve, a hollow part 1136? constituting one side of an expansible chamberand having a passage formed with a valve seat, a second part constituting the other side of that chamber and having a circular aperture in line with said seat, a sleeve rotatably mounted in said aperture and traversed by an axial bore, a valve cooperating with said seat and having its stem adjustably threaded in said bore, means sealing the joints between said sleeve, valve stem, and second part.

6. In an expansion valve, a hollow part constituting the one side of" an expansible chamber and having a passage formed with a valve seat, a second part constituting the other side of that chamber and having a circular aperture in line with said seat, a sleeve rotatably mounted in said aperture, and a valve cooperating with said seat and having a stem adjustably threaded inside said sleeve.

7. In a device of the character. described,

a hollow part constituting the one side of an' expansible chamber and having a fluid passageway formed with a valve seat, a second part constituting the other side of said chamher and having secured thereto a valve which cooperates with said seat and so limits the.

relative movement of said" parts in one direction, and stop means, carried by said hol-.

low part independent of the valve seat, carried by one of said parts and adapted to engage the other part to limit their relative movement in the opposite direction and a FRED J. HEIDEMAN. JOSEPH N; HADJISKY. 

